ways to cite a song
4 Ways to Cite a Song
Often, songwriters don't get credit for their work that is mentioned in essays or articles published online, which is wrong. In this write-up, we shall tell you the ways to cite a song, so that the respective songwriter gets his due.
Fact
The MLA format no longer allows the use of URLs to cite references, since they are not static and often change.- State the last name of the songwriter/singer, followed by a comma, and then the first name.
- State the name of the song, followed by a period inside double quotation marks.
- State the name of the performer, if it differs from that of the songwriter.
- State the name of the album in italics. Also state the format in which it was recorded, in square brackets.
- State the name of the distributor, followed by a comma, and the year of release, followed by a period.
- While citing a song, always state the name of the songwriter, starting with the last name and ending with the first initial of the first name, followed by a period.
- List the year of copyright or the year it was published in brackets or parentheses.
- List the title of the song, and capitalize only the first letter of the song or any proper nouns in the title.
- State the name of the performers in square brackets.
- State the album title in italics, preceded by the word 'On'.
- List the medium of the song on which it was recorded in square brackets, followed by a period.
- List the name of the state in which it was recorded followed by a colon. After the colon, state the name of the city, followed by a period.
- Lastly, state the year of release, followed by a period.
- Start by writing the songwriter's last name, followed by a comma, and then the first name, followed by a period.
- Write the lyrics.
- Write the name of the song in double quotation marks.
- Write the name of the album in italics.
- Write the year it was published on the website, or you can write it as 'n.d.' for unknown date.
- Write the name of the recording company. Also mention where you accessed the information from.
- Write the date you accessed the information.
- Start by writing the songwriter's last name, followed by the initial of the first name, and separate it with a comma, followed by a period.
- Include the date of release in round brackets, followed by a period.
- State the name of the song, followed by a period.
- State the name of the album in italics.
- State the source of the lyrics, preceded by the words 'Retrieved from'.